England, May 17-29, 2016

Covent Garden as seen from the Royal Opera House lounge balcony.

Zubin Varla (Oberon/Theseus) practices his wire work with the help of Margaret Ann Bain (Flute/Philostrate) and Tibu Fortes (Fairy).

Perspective of a 'penny stinker.'

Inside the reconstructed theatre.

Intermission, "The Taming of the Shrew."

Timberframe and the only thatched roof in London. Permits for the roof delayed construction for years. London still remembers the great fire of 1666.

After a show, this gate opens so patrons can stream out of the complex onto the bankside.

The Palace Theatre. "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" was just about to open.

A ticket agent for West End theatres was outside our hotel window.

Waiting for "The Winter's Tale" by the Royal Ballet.

Mrs. White, in the conservatory.

The ballet was wonderful but at intermission I stumbled into this swank space and discovered what these evenings are really about.

Intermissions were long enough for a quick meal. Ordering is done ahead of time.

Best use of projection ever. The shadows falling on the trench wall are animated. A soundtrack lets you listen in on the soldiers casting the shadows. The Holocaust Exhibition was theatrical too. It included video interviews with survivors.

The Changing of the Guard. Theatre of a different sort.

Primary home of the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Stage setting for "Hamlet."

Our seats were fantastic, right by the stage.

The dimension of the stalls look strangely familiar.

The Royal Shakespeare Company production of "Hamlet." rocked on all levels.

The final show of the trip. An obliging gentleman sold me a ticket for half-price just outside the theatre. The show had long been sold out.

Intermission.

The leads were movie stars who had just starred together in the wonderful 2015 version of Cinderella. Sadly, neither one could act for the stage. This was the only bad production we saw on the trip.

The art direction and costumes were wonderful, and the veteran stage actors were good. Sadly, the youngsters were not. Their beautiful faces and famous names made for a wonderful marquee though. I suspect they got rushed direction. Such are the economics of theatre in the West End.

England, May 17-29, 2016
photos by Jeff Hohner
the following photo essay and photographs are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License

The Globe Theatre, London

Globe Theatre

Globe Theatre

Globe Theatre

Globe Theatre

Globe Theatre

West End, London

West End

The Royal Opera House, London

Royal Opera House

Royal Opera House

Royal Opera House

Royal Opera House

Royal Opera House

Royal Opera House

Royal Opera House

Royal Opera House

Royal Opera House

Royal Opera House

Royal Opera House

Imperial War Museum, London

Buckingham Palace, London

Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon

Royal Shakespeare Theatre

Royal Shakespeare Theatre

Royal Shakespeare Theatre

Royal Shakespeare Theatre

Royal Shakespeare Theatre

Royal Shakespeare Theatre

The Garrick Theatre, London

Garrick Theatre

Garrick Theatre

Garrick Theatre

Garrick Theatre